A young girl runs excitedly along the track of a spinning roller coaster, while her parents lug the family luggage toward the security checkpoints at Orlando International Airport.

The colorful coaster track is part of a new work of art, embedded in the floor at the airport. And while the child squeals with delight, airport executive Carolyn Fennell smiles broadly.

“The fun is to watch the kids play,” said Fennell, the airport’s senior director of public affairs.

But giving children a moment’s respite from the rigors of air travel is just part of the airport’s mission with its extensive public-art collection. Paintings, murals, sculptures and other works are designed to complement the natural light and live foliage. The goal: They’ll provide landmarks for visitors navigating the terminals while also creating a calming environment for stressed-out travelers.

How committed is the airport to art? Even the new south-terminal complex — which doesn’t yet feature gates for flights — already has art prominently on display.

“There’s a strong desire to help people appreciate the art and cultural diversity that’s here in Central Florida,” Fennell said.

Matthew J. Palm/Orlando Sentinel

Central Florida's theme parks and vacation attractions are represented in "The Fun Garden," one of four specialty terrazzo artworks by Scott Parsons at Orlando International Airport.

Central Florida's theme parks and vacation attractions are represented in "The Fun Garden," one of four specialty terrazzo artworks by Scott Parsons at Orlando International Airport. (Matthew J. Palm/Orlando Sentinel)

Among the Florida artists represented are Doris Leeper, Barbara Sorensen, Steve Lotz and Victor Bokas. Duane Hanson’s “The Traveler,” a sculpture of a weary tourist, is a favorite with visitors who can’t believe the lifelike quality of the dozing man.

“Is he real?” a woman asked on a recent busy travel day, as several other travelers snapped photos.

Matthew J. Palm/Orlando Sentinel

Scott Parsons' "Space Garden" at Orlando International Airport features a shuttle. The airport served as an alternate landing location during the space-shuttle program.

Scott Parsons' "Space Garden" at Orlando International Airport features a shuttle. The airport served as an alternate landing location during the space-shuttle program. (Matthew J. Palm/Orlando Sentinel)

The latest additions, including the coaster-inspired “Fun Garden,” are by award-winning South Dakota artist Scott Parsons. His series of four large-scale terrazzo murals are scattered throughout the north terminal.

“We call them welcome mats,” Fennell said of these latest creations, which were added as part of an expansion of the airport’s ticketing areas. They exemplify another aspect of the airport’s art: showing off the region.

Orlando International Airport/courtesy photo

Specially colored epoxy is mixed with terrazzo to create the artworks by Scott Parsons that now decorate the floors of Orlando International Airport.

Specially colored epoxy is mixed with terrazzo to create the artworks by Scott Parsons that now decorate the floors of Orlando International Airport. (Orlando International Airport/courtesy photo)

“We have always said that this airport is more than an airport,” said Frank Kruppenbacher, chairman of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, at the unveiling of Parsons’ work.“It is a reflection of the experiences of Central Florida.”

The four topics of Parsons’ “Gardens,” which each measure around 28 feet by 32 feet, are wellness/agriculture, fun, space and technology. Orange blossoms grace “The Wellness Garden,” a shuttle flies in “The Space Garden.”

“I wanted them to be vibrant and describe the energy I felt in Orlando,” Parsons said.

The installation of all four took about eight months, with “The Wellness Garden” first to be completed in December.

“It’s a very intricate process,” said Ksenia Merck, program manager of the north-terminal renovation. Parsons’ designs were digitally mapped. Then, metal strips that separate each design’s varied colors were put in place. Finally, the sparkling terrazzo was applied, one color at a time “like a paint-by-numbers,” Merck said.

Money for art is built into the cost of renovations and expansion, Fennell said. Artists are chosen by an airport committee of Fennell; Merck; Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer; Shannon Fitzgerald, executive director of the Mennello Museum of American Art and Orlando’s public-art collection; and Terry Olson, the director of Arts and Cultural Affairs for Orange County.

The committee looks for art that not only represents the region but helps to provide a memorable experience for the more than 46 million annual passengers at the airport, the nation’s 11th busiest.

Parsons’ “gardens” have already provided one memorable moment: A man went down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend amid the swirling colors. (She said yes.) That delighted — but didn’t surprise — Parsons, who thinks airports are full of life’s dramas, big and small.

“There are moments of hello and goodbye,” he said. “It’s an emotional place.”